Wake Territory

The Wake Territory was an unincorporated territory of the United States. The territory consisted of Wake Island, and it was considered to be a part of Hawaii until the 1930s. The island, originally colonized by Japan as Otorishima, was acquired peacefully in 1889 when US Navy forces signed a treaty with the local Japanese fishermen, in which the Japanese would be granted citizenship if they agreed to US rule. The United States acquired an island with just 7,260 inhabitants, with 96.5% of them being Japanese settlers. However, many of the Japanese chose to emigrate, and the USA encouraged immigration fo the Pacific islands to help settle the region. Most of the newer immigrants were Poles or from northern Germany, and, in 1890, 69.2% of the inhabitants were Poles. By 1892, the population was 7,440, but the Japanese population had decreased to just 3.2% of the total as a sizeable Yankee community moved in. Finally, by 1893, the Japanese population had been virtually eliminated through emigration or assimilation.